1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention generally relate to catwalks for conveying pipe to a drill floor from a lower section of a drilling rig or drill site. Specifically, embodiments of the invention relate to a system for connecting parts of the trough of a catwalk when the trough consists of two or more pieces.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a drilling operation or rig work-over operation, whether on a water-based or land-based drilling rig, pipe for the drilling operation, casing, or other tubulars are often stored at or supplied from a level that is lower than the drill floor. Operators typically use a “catwalk” to convey the pipe from the lower level to the drill floor. The pipe is typically mechanically transported (e.g. pushed and/or pulled) in a v-shaped trough, from a level below the rig floor to the rig floor.
In certain onshore rigs the catwalk can be one-hundred feet long or longer. One of the problems with catwalks of this size is that they cannot easily be moved on or off the rig location, and cannot be transported on public roads unless they are sixty feet long or less. Accordingly, it would be useful to have catwalk troughs that could be divided into two or more pieces so that they could be more easily transported from location to location.
A potential problem with a two-piece catwalk trough is that the trough would be likely to sag at the point where the two sections are attached as a result of the weight of the tubular at points below the connection point of the two trough pieces. This would create stress on the trough parts at the point where they are connected as well as creating a potentially dangerous situation for workers located near the catwalk and trough. Accordingly, it would be useful to have a system for connecting and aligning a two piece trough so that the trough will not sag as pipe is transported to the drill floor and so that undue stress will not be placed on each part of the trough.